


when i get back.

by misswritingobsessed



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, romance if you look hard enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27778459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misswritingobsessed/pseuds/misswritingobsessed
Summary: Mandy and Jason's final talk before Mandy leaves on a new mission.
Relationships: Mandy Ellis/Jason Hayes
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> With season four so up in the air, I decided to write this. It may have a second part, it may not. I'm not sure how good it is, so I am sorry for any mistakes they're all mine. I hope you like it :)

“This is too much, Jason.” Mandy said, a grin on her face, yet she was shaking her head.

“I want you to have it, as a good luck charm, or a promise, whatever you want to call it.” Jason hadn’t been thrilled that Mandy requested an assignment away from bravo, but he realised it was something she wanted, so he did all he could to deal with it. 

The ring she was holding was stunning, a gold band with a dark, almost black diamond in the middle of it. Mandy has never been one for jewellery but this felt special, it felt like more than just a good luck gesture.

“Was my great grandmothers, got passed down, I thought it would be something nice for you to take with you, keep you smiling.” He hated that he knew nothing about where she was going. 

“You know, I’ll come back at some point. This new mission won’t last forever.” 

Saying goodbye to him was always hard. Of course, there was no guarantee she’d come back, but she would try. 

Jason smiled, “Maybe when you get back we’ll give us another go? I know what happened in J-bad is supposed to stay there,”

Mandy bit her lip, “I leave first thing tomorrow, so I really should get going.” She changed the subject, even though it hurt.

She had been ready when they got back from J-bad, she had been prepared to submit her retirement papers and be a military wife, but Jason wasn’t. 

She’d be lying if she said it didn’t break her heart, if that wasn’t the reason for her requesting some time away from the team. 

Mandy didn’t expect the ring, it wasn’t a proposal, more of a promise, or maybe, she could dream and this would be a proposal that didn’t require an answer right away? 

“Just,” Jason began, one hand cupping her cheek, his thumb stroking her face, “Just do all you can to come back to me.” 

Mandy blushed, “I’ll try my best.” 

Jason was the first to lean in and kiss her, she didn’t fight it, she wanted it.

“Stay safe out there, okay,” It was an unspoken ‘I love you’, the Jason Hayes way of asking her to make it back home in one piece.

She held up the ring he’d given her, “I have my good luck charm.” 

“See you soon, Mandy.” 

Mandy took a slow breath, maybe when she got back they’d be something. Be what they were meant to be, fall in love, have a family, it’d be just like the dream she’d been having.

For now though, this is what was happening. She’d be gone for a while, he’d figure things out, and hopefully, one day things would come full circle and they’d meet each other in a much better place than they were right now, and they’d be happy.

“I’ll see you when I get back, Jason.” 

Yeah, maybe when she got back they’d both finally be ready to be happy and to be in love.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason knew something wasn't right, and deep down he knew it was because of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I may have one more chapter after this, but it depends on if you guys like it. Any and all mistakes are mine. I hope you like it :)

Jason felt something was wrong. Something had been off when Mandy had stopped calling. He knew it could have just been the mission, it could have just been the case she was working on, different country, crappy cell service, in too deep she couldn’t make a personal call. 

Then it happened, He got his great grandmother's ring back in the mail. For three days he held his breath until Blackburn reassured him that Mandy was alive. He waited on an explanation, a letter or an email, just something that would give him so kind of answer. 

He’d called her a few times, it went straight to voicemail, but that was sometimes all he wanted, to hear that recording of her voice, picking up on the noise in the background, picturing where she was when she recorded it. If it was that time he took her into the city so she could buy a new phone after she dropped hers one too many times, or if it was later when she got home and could finally be bothered to set it all up. 

The email he got was sent in the middle of the night. One of the nights he was actually able to sleep. 

_ ‘I wanted you to have the ring back, just in case.’  _

_ ‘I’ll be away for longer than I thought. I’m sorry, Jason.’ _

It was the last part that caught his eye. A moment of pure honesty from the woman he loved. 

_ ‘I thought I could wait forever for you, but I need to do my own thing, live my own life. I want to come back to you at some point, but please don’t wait for me. Be happy, Jason. I love you.’ _

He reread the email over fifty times before he closed the laptop and sat back on the couch. He stared into space for a moment before he felt a mixture of anger, sadness and loss come over him.

She was going to wait. Scrap that, Mandy had been waiting, for over a year, since Mexico when he promised her they’d figure it out, since after Alana died and he wanted no one other than Mandy to comfort him. Since that night in J-bad when his dreams went from war and destruction to a church wedding and babygrows. 

She wanted to come back, that’s what Mandy had said, and maybe that’s what Jason would hold on to. At least for a while anyway. 

Jason let the tears fall, for the first time not being ashamed of the emotion. Not wanting to ignore and override. Just to sit and sob over the loss that he knew deep down he caused. 

He held the ring, the one he hoped would be part of a proposal one day, he hated that she sent it back, it felt so final.

“Hell, Mandy, what did I do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to know your thoughts!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this time it would be different?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not massively pleased with this, but I couldn't think of anyway to rewrite it. So, I really hope it's not too bad. Any and all mistakes are my own. I hope you like it!

“It’s been a while,” Mandy said as she slipped into the booth at the back of the bar, “you look good Jason.” 

He did. Command suited him. Regular sleep suited him. 

Jason took her in, he really looked at her. She had bangs, her hair longer than he remembered. A new scar on her left arm, just above her elbow. A new bracelet on her wrist, but no rings, he noticed. 

“It's good to see you. How long are you back for?” She’d been gone for over a year, a lot had changed and Jason couldn’t figure out if he wanted to know all of it or none of it. 

“A while,” Mandy said with a small smile. 

“Yeah?” 

Mandy nodded, “I owe the agency another six months and then, I think after that I might stick around stateside. Buy a house, fix it up, travel a bit.” 

Jason nodded, “Well, if you need any help with that, you should let me know.” 

Mandy chuckled, “Oh, you know any good handymen?” 

Jason shrugged, “I might know a guy. Where are you looking at going?” He figured she wouldn’t stay in Virginia Beach.

“Pennsylvania, I think. I spent a lot of time waiting around these last eighteen months, and having weighed up the pro’s and con’s of all fifty states, I remember a foster family I stayed with there, and I think I want to go back.” 

Jason grinned, the thought of Mandy in his home state bringing him joy. He remembered the conversation he and Mandy had years ago about all the places she’d lived, the ones she loved, the ones she hated, he could see her in the city, morning coffee, church on Sunday, runs in the park. 

“What about you?” Mandy asked, “You’re stateside now, right?”

“Yeah. I had a good run as bravo one, but something needed to give, and I think, you know, everything I’ve done, I needed a change. I’m enjoying it.” 

They spent the next hour or so talking, Jason filled her in on the team, where they all were, what they were all doing. Mandy had questions, she appreciated the pictures Jason showed her.

“Are you seeing anyone?” Jason asked as Mandy picked up her bag. “I just, I know we have a complicated history, I just,” 

“No, I’m not seeing anyone.” Mandy told him, slowly standing up from the table, she really needed to be somewhere - agency stuff, she explained. 

Jason nodded, he didn’t know how to respond to that. It made him calm in an odd way, happy, maybe? 

“I owe the agency six months, but after that maybe you could come back to your roots for a while, help me fix up a house.” 

Jason reached out to take her hand. “Maybe I’ll do that.” 

Mandy smiled, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek. 

“I’m really glad you came back, Mandy.” 

Mandy smiled, “I’m really glad I came back too.” 

\------

“So, where are you heading now you’re retiring?” Ray asked, watching Jason clean out his desk. 

It has been eight months since that conversation with Mandy in the bar. 

“Oh, I was thinking I may go back to Pennsylvania, you know, spend some time exploring around the place I grew up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, that's that. Let me know what you think :)

**Author's Note:**

> I would love for you to comment and let me know what you thought of this :)


End file.
